The field of the present invention is radiation shields.
Electrical circuits are known to be susceptible to performance degradation or malfunction when exposed to extraneous electromagnetic radiation. A well known solution to this problem is to shield the affected circuits from interference from the undesired radiation. Conveniently, this is accomplished by establishing a radiation shield enveloping the electrical circuit to be protected. A radiation shield also may be established enveloping a source of undesired radiation.
Typically, a radiation shield is fabricated according to the desired shape and dimensions and adapted for connection to an electrical circuit board. Thus, a device or system comprising several electrical circuits may require fabrication of several different radiation shields with a variety of shapes and dimensions. Moreover, in the development and manufacture of a circuit, the dimensions may change, in which case a new radiation shield must be fabricated.
Prototype radiation shields as are well known in the art, tailored to specific desired physical dimensions, typically cost $500-$600 or more per unit to manufacture. Moreover, it may require four weeks to obtain such a prototype radiation shield. This lead time is especially onerous when, unexpectedly, radiation shielding requirements change during development of an electrical device or system.
Consequently, it is desired to have a means for quickly and inexpensively fabricating radiation shields with a wide range of shapes and dimensions.